Punjab vs Mumbai, Preview

Hyderabad's victory over Rajasthan on Friday has meant that Saturday's first game - Punjab vs Mumbai - will be nothing more than a warm up match for table toppers Mumbai. Punjab are already out of the tournament but will want to finish on a high as it is the last game as a professional player for its captain - Adam Gilchrist.

Punjab:

Having beaten Delhi in their previous match and having breached the fortress in Bangalore in the game before that, Punjab will be high on confidence and they will be looking to take that momentum when they face Mumbai at the picturesque Dharamsala.

In-form player: David Miller has turned out to be an exceptional performer for the Punjab team this year, having come up with a string of explosive knocks so far with relative ease. With 412 runs from 11 matches at an average of 68.66, Miller has been Punjab's go to man in 2013 and they will be hoping he continues in the same vein in their upcoming match.

Hits: In a positive development for Punjab, Gilchrist has clicked in the last two matches, giving the much needed boost at the top of the order. In fact, after being rather brittle for most of the tournament, Punjab's batting is finally falling in place with Shaun Marsh also emerging as a vital cog along with Miller. On the bowling front, pacer Praveen Kumar was exceptionally economical against Delhi while youngster Sandeep Sharma stood out with a three-wicket haul.

Misses: Senior pacer Azhar Mahmood and spinner Piyush Chawla leaked quite a few runs against an off-colour Delhi line-up, even though the latter made up for it by picking up two wickets.

Last three matches: Won against Delhi by 7 runs, Won against Bangalore by 7 wickets, Lost to Hyderabad by 30 runs.

Mumbai:

Mumbai don't seem to be putting a foot wrong in what has been a smooth campaign for them so far. They turned their home ground into an impregnable fortress while they have also won consistently in their away games. Currently sitting pretty at the top of the table with 22 points, Mumbai will be hoping to consolidate their spot when they face Punjab. They might once again be without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, who might be rested before the play-offs.

In-form player: Kieron Pollard was superb in the match against Hyderabad, winning the game for his side single-handedly with a blazing unbeaten 66 off just 27 balls. The West Indian all-rounder has been a crucial contributor in the middle order for Mumbai, coming up with quite a blitzy shows this year. With 303 runs from 14 matches, Pollard has an excellent average of 43.28 and Mumbai will be hoping that he adds more to that tally.

Hits: Mumbai's batting has been a mix of aggression and patience with Dinesh Karthik and skipper Rohit Sharma in decent form. Add to this, they have finally started including their 'million-dollar buy' Glenn Maxwell in the line-up and he has had a couple of useful outings. Youngster Aditya Tare made the most of the first opportunity he got by cracking a fifty in Mumbai's match against Rajasthan. The bowlers too have been upto the task. Mitchell Johnson has led the pace attack with elan and has got good support from the likes of Lasith Malinga and Dhawal Kulkarni. Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has also made useful contributions to make the side close to invincible going by current form.

Misses: While Pragyan Ojha has also been contributing to Mumbai cause by being amongst the wickets, things have not quite gone his way in the last two matches in which he went for more than 9 an over.

Last three matches: Won against Rajasthan by 14 runs, Won against Hyderabad by 7 wickets, Won against Pune by 5 wickets.